NOKIA IN INDIA: From a Setback to a Comeback

NOKIA IN INDIA: FROM A SETBACK TO A COMEBACK


Credit: Independent.ie


NOKIA IN INDIA


• In 1994, Nokia entered the Indian market. Nokia India operated as a subsidiary of Nokia Corporation.

• In 1995, the first mobile phone call in India was made through the Nokia network and on a Nokia handset. In order to have a better understanding of the Indian market, the R&D Center was established in 2001.

• Nokia ruled the roost in the Indian mobile handset market. It launched several products specifically for the Indian market.

• Nokia also developed a wide distribution network, which helped it reach every nook and corner of the country.


A FEW MISSTEPS


• Though Nokia was doing well, the early signs of the competition catching up emerged in 2004.

• The company reported that though it was the largest mobile handset manufacturer in the world, its share was going down.

• In 2007, Apple launched iPhone which marked a breakthrough in smartphones and the iOS, a full touch screen app-based operating system, changed the way phones were being used.

• And then, to make matters worse, Google decided to partner with every smartphone manufacturer in the world via Android, which would emulate the iPhone.


THE RESURRECTION


• In 2013, Nokia launched an Android powered N1 Tablet, the manufacturing of which was licensed to a Chinese manufacturer, Foxconn.

• At that time, a Nokia spokesperson said that if the right partner was available, it would venture into smartphones, but it would happen only after 2016, after the agreement with Microsoft.

• Again, in June 2015, the CEO of Nokia, Rajeev Suri, announced that Nokia was planning to return to mobile phone business.


THE INDIAN RENASCENCE


• With HMD setting its sights on making Nokia a prominent player in the global mobile handset market once again, it started looking at India, once its key market, with renewed interest.

• Within a few months of the announcement of the launch of Nokia, HMD announced that 37% of registrations for Nokia phones and 30% of all the traffic on its global website were from India.

• Soon after its launch, Nokia 3 became highly popular in India. It was launched a month before the other Nokia's smartphones and received good reviews from customers.

• The subsequent phones also received positive feedback.

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